Lake Powell is the heart of the huge Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which at about 1.25 million acres is roughly the size of Grand Canyon National Park. Created by the barrier of Glen Canyon Dam in the Colorado River, Lake Powell is ringed by red cliffs that twist off into 96 major canyons and countless inlets (most accessible only by boat) with huge, red-sandstone buttes randomly jutting from the sapphire waters. It extends through terrain so rugged it was the last major area of the United States to be mapped. In the 1990s, the Sierra Club and Glen Canyon Institute started a movement to drain the lake to restore water-filled Glen Canyon, which some believe was more spectacular than the Grand Canyon, but these efforts failed to gain significant momentum, and the lake is likely to be around for years to come. The remote lakefront and rock formations are best visited by tour boat or houseboat.For restaurants and hotels near Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell, see Page or Wahweap marina, the area's closest access points.
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